School dances were always deeply awkward. Prom was no different.
Dib had never had the desire to go to a dance. Why would he? There was the aforementioned awkwardness, the fact that he loathed the idea of spending any further second with his fellow students and he simply felt like his time was better spent researching things he was actually passionate about.
Then suddenly, as if the universe had decided it wanted to torture him more, Dib was given many reasons in which to abandoned his strict 'no shitty school dances' pact with himself.
1. Membrane was suddenly very gung ho about the idea of his son not being a hermit. He had begun encouraging Dib to join all kinds of clubs and social outings.
2. Gretchen, a very nice girl he'd known since 3rd grade, had asked him to go. He'd told her that he would think about it. She was pretty. Her braces, long gone. Big brown eyes and a kind smile.
And 3. Zim had made it very vocally clear that he would be there.
Strangely, it was the last one that really cemented his plans.
Or maybe not so strangely? After all, Dib had to keep a close eye on his nemesis. Surely, this desire to go to some silly dance, had nothing to do with any actual inclination to party it up with a bunch of humans. There was obviously something evil afoot.
The theme was 'masquerade madness'.
Dib was fitted for a tux, courtesy of his father's over enthusiasm. It was black with the exception of his blue bowtie and amber cufflinks. The mask he'd decided upon was also amber. It fit solidly, covering up half his face, intricate swirls becoming what looked like moth wings.
He picked up Gretchen in his shitty, paid for all by himself with strictly paranormal money, car. And she was beautiful, of course. Her dress was soft and flowing, her hair the same. She wore a silver mask, and the corsage he put on her (one he'd just grabbed from the grocery store on the way there), looked quite out of place.
But, she declared it 'beautiful', smiling genuinely. And not for the first time, Dib felt bad. He was fairly oblivious when it came to anything outside of the paranormal. It'd taken him until last year to finally realize Gretchen's feelings for him. Up until then he'd just thought she was really nice. And she was. But, it was more than that. Now that Dib could SEE her attraction to him, it was impossible to ignore. It was her gentle smile, the yearning in her eyes, the way she flipped her hair etc.
Dib swallowed nervously as she put the matching flowers in his lapel. He glanced down at her hairline and wondered what this meant. He hadn't considered the ramifications beyond this. Would she consider them in a relationship? Dib didn't know how he felt about that. He couldn't get up the nerve to ask himself if he wanted one with her. Or even if he returned the attraction.
It felt unnatural to be thinking about himself, actually. Unnatural and petty, when there was so much important stuff to do and learn.
Gretchen's father took plenty of blinding pictures of them standing awkwardly next to each other before she finally shooed him away.
The dance wasn't being held at the school's shitty gym, but rather a slightly less shitty community center. Plenty of people had already arrived. Gretchen hung on his arm as they walked into the ballroom. The ceiling was decorated with silver streamers, fake candles sat on tables and there was plenty of food to accompany the music. The DJ played a mix of recent hits, timeless hits and old classical ballroom music to go with the theme.
Dib scanned the room and surprisingly wasn't sure who half the people in the large room were. None of them were who he was looking for though. Despite the masks, he knew that he would be able to pick Zim out from a crowd of millions. But, a secondary scan revealed no green skinned, short alien monster.
"Do you want to dance?" He heard Gretchen ask hesitantly over some pop song. He blinked and fought back a grimace at the slight shift of his contacts. The mask, unfortunately didn't allow for any glasses.
"Oh um...sure." He didn't really want to dance. But it was a dance, after all.
The delighted look on Gretchen's face, made his stomach drop a bit. They joined the group in the center of the room that was laughing, jumping, singing along to the music.
"I uh, I don't really have any prior dancing experience." Dib yelled at his date over the din. She laughed.
"That's alright. I don't either."
They awkwardly moved to the rhythm and beat, and Dib felt pretty silly but hey, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would've been. He still found himself scanning the room, watching the doors. Surely, the green menace would show up soon.
The song ended and a new one began, a startling contrast. Not pop, no heavy beats. But, ageless strings, a soothing melody. Old ballroom music. Plenty of people groaned and walked away, to grab some food. Others gleefully begun to spin each other around like morons.
Someone tapped his shoulder.
Dib instinctively knew who it was and as he spun around to face his enemy, he caught the look on Gretchen's face; surprise and confusion. He was already opening his mouth to yell something. Something like 'So, you finally showed up, huh?' or 'Back off, you lizard .' Only it all dried up in his throat.
Zim wasn't wearing his normal uniform or even a suit. Rather a long dark blue dress fell from his (big, much too wide) hips and nearly pooled around his tiny feet. It tightened around his chubby middle. It rose up and wrapped around his throat, seeped down his arms, but left plenty of shoulder exposed. Long slits ran up both legs, ending at the top of his thighs. He wore his same black leggings and boots, the same gloves. The mask he'd chosen was black, and it shimmered with glitter, appearing like a night sky.
Behind that mask were bright ruby, undisguised eyes. Dib thought that his heart was going to stop, it was beating so fast.
"May I have this dance, you pathetic worm?"
At the familiar voice, Dib let out the breath he'd been holding. "W-what?"
Zim scowled, lips flattening for a moment. "Are your ears as dysfunctional as your eyes? I said, 'may I have this dance?'"
"No. I got that part. I'm just trying to process that I heard it at all." Dib watched those alien eyes narrow and flicker behind him. The silly disco lights played off the wet orbs.
"You heard it correctly, earth boy. Now the time for choosing is upon you. Dance with me."
"Or?"
"Or what?"
"You said, 'choosing'. What's my other choice, huh?" Dib asked, hearing his own voice as it sounded far away. And it didn't sound as aggressive as he wanted it to. Zim put a hand on his hip. Dib's eyes were drawn to the action.
"Or suffer, obviously."
"Riiiight. I really doubt that-"
"Dib." The voice came from behind him. It was small and feminine and oh, right. Gretchen. Dib twisted his body a bit, not completely facing her because putting your back to your enemy was stupid. "You can dance with him."
"W-wha-?" He saw her smile but, it...it wasn't like the ones she'd been giving him recently. It was...sad? DIb decided that it was sad and it made him uncomfortable to see it.
"Maybe we can meet up in a bit." She declared with a nod before walking off. Dib thought he saw her shoulders droop.
He should go after her. He should comfort her.
But, his mind was violently torn in the opposite direction as he felt three small digits, worm their way between his and yank him into motion. Dib stumbled along after him, lest he wind up flat on his face. Instinct demanded he put his other hand somewhere and it went to the alien's hip. Zim's other one was clutching his shoulder.
And they danced.
Dib had no idea what he was doing but, Zim sure as hell seemed like he did. He pulled them around the dance floor, sweeping around people effortlessly. He only stepped on Dib's shoes like four times.
"How the heck do you know how to dance?" Dib asked, a bit breathlessly.
Zim scoffed. "It is not hard. You merely observe. Then follow the pattern." He tilted his chin in the direction of some teacher chaperones, dancing on the same floor.
Dib knew this was weird, right? Mortal enemies didn't dance. He considered that for a second, then shoved it away, unsatisfied. Zim was an alien, for crying out loud. They'd been fighting insane battles since he was 11. Nothing they did was normal. Besides, he tightened his hold on Zim's hip, as long as they were dancing, it meant Zim wasn't off doing something stupid. He gave into the movement of their bodies, throwing himself into their dance with new enthusiasm. And he watched ruby red eyes widen, then narrow.
"You're not wearing your contacts." Dib announced. He didn't notice how people were watching them, whispering among themselves, trying to figure out who the mysterious couple was.
"And you are not wearing your pathetic lenses." Zim replied, he tilted his head up to look the human in the eyes. And his expression shone with distaste. Their height difference was only increasing as the years went on. Dib had grown and grown. He wasn't the tallest kid in their grade. But, he was easily taller than Zim, who barely reached the human's solar plexus. People stepped out of their way lest they be mowed down. The two mystery dancers seemed to know each other's every move, followed each other so fluidly.
"I could rip your mask off and everyone would see your alien face." Dib said, casually.
"I could rip your face off and everyone would see your uh, gross skull." Zim replied, equally as casually.
Dib fought back a smile, his lips twitching against his will. He shoved it down. "Touche."
He felt the irken's fingers minutely adjust between his own, and Dib tightened his grip as they spun around again and again. The room was a blur of colors, of random figures he didn't really care about. The only thing that drew his eyes and kept them glued there was the alien in front of him. A constant. He felt Zim's dress swish around their legs.
"So, the outfit?" He asked, wondering if he'd get an answer that satisfied him.
"Hmm? What about it?" The irken asked, suspiciously.
"Boys don't usually wear dresses to dances." He tried, although the second the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. It was stupid to think that Zim might adhere to a made up human gender binary.
As predicted, Zim sneered at that.
"Dib filth, there are countless genders out there in the universe. More genders that you could ever wrap your tiny brain around." Zim spun the human outwards, then pulled him back in. "And I am none of them."
"Oh." Dib found that was all he could say in response, as he looked down into those eyes. They were...mesmerizing. Giant, glimmering. A dark pink that seemed to fade into red or purple with the different lights. The music filled his insides, had them moving around and around. It was loud and it felt like their conversation was protected by it. The dim lighting made things seem unreal, the dancing rainbow lights made it seem magical.
"You look..." Many words came to mind and he shoved them all away because they weren't right and because he couldn't bring himself to think about them too hard. ", horrible." Dib finally said, but it held none of the venom that he wanted it to.
"Pfft. I do not. I look amazing." Zim declared. "The store drone even said so."
"Well, uh they must've been blind then." Dib argued. The song came to a close, and he finally looked away from the irken, as if he'd been in a trance. He flushed as he realized people were watching them from the sidelines and every other couple had essentially been driven from the floor. People clapped politely.
Dib yanked his hands away from Zim as if he'd been burned. What was he doing? He'd came here with Gretchen. With nice, lovely Gretchen. And here he was dancing with an alien, his alien nemesis. He watched the irken grin widely and bow a bit at the smattering of applause. A new song began, another pop song and people poured back onto the dance floor.
Dib took his opportunity and slipped through them. He looked around for his date. Gretchen was no where to be found. Huh. He looked again, spinning in a little circle to see if he could see her flowing dress or purple hair. Maybe she had gone to the bathroom, he reasoned. But, a small part of him knew that she hadn't.
Dib pulled out his cell and...his thumbs lingered over the little letters. What did he even say
'Are you ok?' He tapped out. Pause. 'I'm sorry.'
Dib had no idea what he was even sorry for. But, it felt like a little knot of guilt had his stomach all tied up. He grabbed himself some chips and sat at a recently vacated table. He munched on them despite not really being hungry.
"Sitting in a corner, Dib Stink?" He heard the irken's terrible voice as it snuck up behind him. Dib stiffened and spun around, glaring.
"Yeah, so? What's it to you, you lizard?" Zim sat primly across from him, careful not to touch anything. Dib rolled his eyes.
"Well, it is a 'dance', yes? Then why are you not dancing?"
"Because I don't feel like it. And my date left." Dib glowered. "No thanks to you."
Zim seemed a bit taken aback. "Me?" He shoved a hand to his chest. "Zim did nothing to Glichen."
"Gretchen."
Zim waved the correction off. "It is not my fault, she came to her senses and realized that you are," The irken gestured at Dib with a gloved hand. "You."
"What's that supposed to even mean?" He barked, crossing his arms. Zim copied his pose.
"That you're disgusting, pathetic, too tall, and have no inclination or time in which to return her filthy affections."
"Wh-what? That's...well, first of all...I mean..." He stuttered.
It was true. Not the disgusting, pathetic part...but the lack of time or inclination. It was what Dib had been thinking before. He tried to picture himself with her. Kissing her, going on dates, just being together. It left him feeling anxious and kind of...numb? He liked Gretchen. She was super pretty, smart, and kind. But, that was as far as it went. He wanted to be her friend.
But, Dib hardly had time to do homework, let alone have any kind of friendship. Dib wondered if this said anything about his own sexuality...then he shoved that thought away. It didn't matter. The only thing that really mattered was the paranormal, was protecting the world, was Zim.
"Do not try and fight it, worm. You know it to be true."
"I..." He wouldn't go so far as to admit that the irken was right. Dib looked over at his long time nemesis. Observed how his claws tapped against his arm to the beat of the song, noted how his mask fell above his cheek bones, and scientifically examined the fullness of his lips. Something he'd never really noticed before. "Shut up."
The song changed again. This time to a slow song. He watched people skip away from the floor, giggling. And couples pull together, wrapping themselves around each other, nervously. Dib watched them, confused. Why? Why did they feel the need to be so close? To shuffle around the floor awkwardly.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dib watched the irken stand and brush himself off before walking around to face the human. He held his hand out again. Dib looked at it, the up at Zim's face, his confusion fading despite everything.
"It's a dance, earth boy. Dance with your future overlord."
Dib rolled his eyes at that but...he slipped his hand into Zim's and let himself be pulled to the floor.
He watched the alien observe the other humans before nodding and copying their movements, hands going to Dib's shoulders. He put his own around the irken's waist and felt his ears grow hot.
This was no waltz. They didn't go flying around the floor. The room wasn't a blur. But, everything did feel fuzzy. The music seeped into his bones again, making everything feel as slow as it sounded. It was heady and curled around the two of them, holding them together, freezing time.
Dib's entire world narrowed down to here and now. His senses felt heightened. Every adjustment Zim made, every breath the irken took...To how soft and pliant his partner felt under his hands. How big and beautiful Zim's eyes were. Dib was confused, so confused... They moved carefully together, moving just as fluidly as before, with a well earned familiarity of one another's movements.
Dib watched those eyes watching him and his heart beat way too loud in his chest. Zim's lips parted. Dib could see faintly pink teeth, that strange tongue.
Dib didn't know that he was trembling. He liked how Zim looked. Liked his body, his lips, his big beautiful eyes...If it hadn't been for the music, for the strange intimacy that dancing brought, if it wasn't for Zim's stupid eyes, his stupid everything...
Dib moved his face down, eyes falling half lidded beneath his mask. Zim lifted his own chin, mirroring the human's movements, hesitantly.
The masks made them feel like different people. In this small moment, Dib wasn't the savior of the world. Zim wasn't an Invader, hellbent on world domination. Instead they were just two very different (and yet similar) people who had a deep history. Who were feeling a very real chemistry that had always been there and had finally managed to be seen.
Dib felt Zim's breath on his face and he closed his eyes as he pressed his lips, very gently against the irken's. They kissed. It began softly, cautiously. It began confused and yearning. They didn't know how to kiss but, that didn't matter. Zim's hands curled into dark hair, pulled him closer. The kiss deepened.
They wobbled along to the music, forgetting where they were or why they were here. The only thing that mattered was this...this overwhelming desire that had been deep beneath their skin for years and only now, with the masks of anonymity, of heady music and the cover of darkness could arise to the surface.
Dib's brow furrowed and he let his hands slide up until they were clutching the alien's back. Every brush of their mouths, every hint of saliva, of tongue and teeth...it set him on fire. Parts of himself that he didn't know he had beat heavily along with his heart. THIS was what attraction and desire was, he thought distantly. He felt like he was drowning in this, in Zim and it didn't scare him or make him anxious. It felt amazing.
The music came to a close.
And everyone on the floor jumped when loud bass kicked in.
Dib felt frozen, like the blood in his veins had turned to ice. He pulled away to look down at his nemesis, the one he'd just been passionately kissing. He saw irken eyes slowly open, saw the high pink flush on his cheeks, the swollen lips...and Dib felt his entire being rebel. He was violently torn in two.
Dib forced his hands to fall away, forced himself to step backwards. He saw Zim blink. Dib wanted to run. He needed to think, to take whatever these new feelings were and destroy them. They were dangerous. Not only to himself, but to the safety of the earth. They were forbidden. They would be the death of him. He expected screaming, he expected Zim's face to contort into rage or fall back into his usual arrogant sneer.
Instead, the irken's grip tightened and he yanked the human back towards him. Dib yelped before soft alien lips slanted against his own. Every thought he'd had a second ago faded away. His shoulders loosened and his hands fluttered nervously, until they landed on Zim's arms. They kissed for another minute, breathing into each other. Pouring into each other, the confusion, the fear, the desire.
This time it was Zim who pulled away. They stared at each other. The heavy music continued to pump out some top 100 hit. And people danced around them, ignorant to the fact that a bitter age old rivalry had just dissolved into desperate kissing.
Dib swallowed at his enemy's eyes. They had darkened in shade. Were nearly purple with some unnameable emotion. With a shaky hand, he reached up and untangled the irken's fingers from his hair. And twined them with his own.
"Come on..." He said, voice low and rough. Dib began to tug them through the crowd. Zim followed, unsteadily.
They reached the exit and pushed out into the night. It was chilly and they both shuddered. As the doors shut behind them, the music faded away to traffic and crickets. And their heavy breathing.
Dib looked down at their hands and felt something in him shift. He was scared. What was he even feeling? He tightened his grip before pulling away and leaning against the metal banister. The cool metal leaked through the fabric of his tux.
"I...um," Dib started and he hated how his voice sounded. So far away, so heavy with desire. Desire he had been so blissfully unaware of until a few minutes ago. He couldn't look at Zim. If he looked at the irken, then all those emotions would overwhelm him. "We...we should just ignore this." Dib began.
"Just...forget this happened. Pass it off as some craziness. And...and just go back to normal." That was the smart thing to do. Because Dib didn't NEED anything like this. This was...was insanity. "I don't even know what came over me." He murmured, mostly to himself.
"What are you talking about, stink?" Zim asked, obviously deeply confused and it was making him mad because of it.
Dib glowered, looked down at his hands. "What are YOU talking about?"
"You're being stupid!" Zim growled. "I don't understand what just happened and what is...what is happening now!"
"Ho-how can you NOT know?" Dib barked, shoving his hands into his pockets. His fingers brushed against his phone. He shut his eyes, reminded of everything they'd talked about before. How he hadn't had the time or inclination for any kind of...anything with Gretchen. Dib had been so SURE that he would never feel anything like...like that for anyone. And yet, of course...here he was...
"Will you LOOK at me, filth!?" Zim demanded. "What is wrong with you?!"
Dib's hands tightened into fists in the confines of his pockets. "Just...shut up for a second." He closed his eyes and tried to breathe deeply. It would be okay. It had to be. This was just some temporary moment of insanity. It didn't mean anything. Hell, he already felt like a complete idiot, looking back at himself, leaning in so eagerly to kiss his worst enemy. So stupid.
"Urghaah!" Zim yelled and he grabbed Dib by his shoulder and spun him around. The human had no choice but to open his eyes to try and steady himself. He narrowly stopped himself from falling and glared at the irken.
"What the hell is your problem, Zim?!"
"My problem is you!" A sharp talon poked his chest. "You're acting all weird and stupid and I demand to know what is going on! Now!"
Dib sighed, feeling all of his anger leave him. "W-we...we kissed, Zim. And uh...enemies don't really do that. Plus, I guess I just...had no idea." No idea how much he'd wanted to just pull Zim to him and ravish his mouth. "I'm really,really confused and...and I don't know what's wrong with me." No attraction to girls or boys...not one glimmer in all his years. And now he couldn't stop thinking of how warm and soft Zim had felt. His hips, his lips.
The irken scoffed again. Dib blinked at him. "Oh Dib, Dib, DIB! You're so close minded! So pathetic!" The irken laughed, hands going to those hips. "You worry about such stupid things."
Dib glared. "No, I think this is all pretty legitimate concerns, you...you alien fuck."
Zim reached over and pushed the human's mask up. Cool night air hit his newly exposed skin. "You look so weird without your lenses."
"Glasses." Dib corrected quietly, feeling frozen again.
"Mmm." Zim replied, curling a strand of hair around the human's ear. "I told you before that there are millions of genders out there. Do you not think that there might be millions of types of relationships as well?"
Dib's jaw tightened as he fought back a shudder as the gentle touch. "W-what do you mean?"
"I MEAN, Dib Stink, that there are plenty of relationship types and sexualities that would allow enemies to do this...kissing thing. But, also you must know that I despise feeling trapped by something as flimsy as a label." Zim ran a thumb under Dib's eye, across his cheekbone.
"What I am saying is that, I will still do what needs to be done. I will still destroy this planet. And you, you pathetic human, might still attempt to save it." While one irken hand still stroked Dib's face, the other reached up and undid his own mask, revealing all his expressions and emotions. Dib ate it up eagerly.
"And it would not make the universe explode if every once and a while I did this..."
Zim slanted his mouth over the human's. Dib's eyes slid shut and he gave into it incredibly easily despite his earlier fears.
This kiss was full of promise. Dib felt his heart stuttering in his chest at soft irken lips, at a strange tongue, surrounding his own, at each small breath Zim drew in between kisses. At the words that he irken murmured against his mouth.
"Because Zim is greedy and I want your mouth." Kiss.
"I want your eyes on me." Kiss.
"I want everything you are." Kiss.
"And no one can tell me its wrong."
Dib had no idea what he was talking about. It was hard to heard over the blood rushing in his ears.
"Uh huh." Was all he could manage.
Dib's eyes opened a bit to peak at the irken before him. All he could see was smiling zipper teeth, darkened alien eyes.
"You're pathetic, Dib." A kind irken hand continued to stroke the human's hair.
"Yeah, well...you're green." He argued, lazily.
"You're not wrong, stink brain." Zim agreed, leaning into the human's heat. It was cold outside.
"Do you uh...want to leave?"
"And go where?" The irken asked.
"I dunno. Somewhere warmer."
"Hmm. Yes. Let us go."